A Madison Twp. man who was cleared of a theft charge can proceed with a lawsuit he filed against a Lackawanna County detective and former assistant district attorney, a federal judge ruled.
(read more)

With a potential strike looming less than one month away and both sides expressing desire to avoid that outcome, representatives from the Abington Heights School District and the Abington Heights Education Association
(read more)

OLYPHANT — Wallenpaupack girls soccer coach Alicia Sodano committed to it six months ago, but even then, the former University of Scranton star didn’t know if the timing was right for a Media Day for the Lackawanna League.
(read more)

Friends of Lackawanna on Tuesday celebrated Throop Borough Council’s decision to oppose Keystone Sanitary Landfill’s nearly 45-year expansion plan, while landfill officials didn’t expect it to make a major impact on the state’s review of the proposal.
(read more)

A Blakely woman and her husband sued a former Olyphant police officer in federal court, claiming his assault on their wedding night caused her to miscarry her child.

Several hours after Chelsea Williams and her husband, Nicholas J. Williams exchanged vows on June 23, 2012, the pair traveled to a relative's home in Olyphant. Former borough police Officer Dean Argenta was the first to respond to a report of a fight at the home, according to a suit filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on the couple's behalf on Dec. 9.

When Mr. Argenta arrived, the group was leaving and Mr. Williams was getting into a vehicle with his three young children. Without asking what was happening, Mr. Argenta hit Mr. Williams in his left leg with his police baton "without warning, provocation or justification," the suit states.

Mr. Argenta proceeded to drag Mr. Williams out of the vehicle, yelled profanities in front of the children, handcuffed Mr. Williams and then used a stun gun on him. The suit claims Mr. Argenta continued to hit Mr. Williams with the police baton and then stun him again, after which Mr. Williams began convulsing. Olyphant police later transported him to the Mid-Valley Hospital in Blakely for treatment.

Mrs. Williams, who was pregnant at the time, tried to help her husband and Mr. Argenta threw her "by her feet and arms" into a bush. After her sister helped her up, Mr. Argenta "slammed" Mrs. Williams into the police vehicle and handcuffed her.

Mrs. Williams asked Mr. Argenta to let her fix her wedding dress, which had fallen down, exposing her breasts, but he refused, the suit states. While she cried, he stunned her, the suit states.

The suit claims another unnamed officer on scene told Mr. Argenta it "wasn't right" because Mrs. Williams had done nothing wrong, but Mr. Argenta took her to the station. During her transportation to be fingerprinted, Mr. Argenta taunted her by "chanting the wedding march," according to the suit.

Mr. Williams was charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness and other charges. Mrs. Williams was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and other charges.

The next day, she went to the hospital and was told "the baby that she was carrying had died." The suit states the baby's death was likely caused by the trauma Mrs. Williams endured the night before.

Mr. Williams pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Aug. 14, 2012 and the remaining charges were withdrawn. All charges against Mrs. Williams were dropped.

Two days later, the district attorney's office filed criminal charges against Mr. Argenta after he failed to note on his application for the Olyphant Police Department that he had previously pleaded guilty to a protection-from-abuse violation. In September, the charges against Mr. Argenta were dropped in exchange for an agreement that he would never again work in law enforcement.

The federal suit names Mr. Argenta as an officer and an individual. The borough and Olyphant police Chief John Gilgallon are also named, though the chief is named in his professional capacity only. The suit claims the borough was responsible to hire, train and supervise the police department.

The Williamses are seeking damages for "severe physical and emotional injuries," as well as monetary damages and punitive damages from Mr. Argenta because his actions were so "egregious" and "intentional."

Borough solicitor C.J. Mustacchio declined to comment on the suit, but said he had forwarded the information to the borough's insurance provider.

Contact the writer: rbrown@timesshamrock.com, @rbrownTT on Twitter

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.